10% of 2013 ecommerce sales made on tablets, says eMarketer

Tuesday, December 3rd 2013by Hannah Langston

Tablet computers are expected to account for more than ten per cent of UK ecommerce sales this year.

Using mobile devices to buy goods and services over the internet is increasingly common, according to a new study - but it's tablets rather than smartphones that have proven the most popular online shopping tool.

Research from eMarketer suggests that by the end of 2013, mobile devices will have been used to make transactions worth a total of £8.17 billion - more than twice last year's figure and 18 per cent of the UK ecommerce market as a whole.

More than half (58 per cent) of these so-called 'mcommerce' sales will be made on tablet computers, valued at £4.74 billion and representing a 10.4 per cent stake in all ecommerce transactions.

In comparison, these devices only accounted for transactions worth £1.72 billion in 2012.

According to eMarketer, tablets are "fast becoming a mass-market device in the UK". It predicts 20 million people - more than one in three consumers - will have used one by the end of the year.

Researchers also forecast that by 2017, sales worth more than £18 billion will be transacted on tablet computers - more than a quarter of the entire UK ecommerce market.

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